WRiTE Club! Play-offs!

A few months ago now, I blogged about participating in DL Hammons' WRiTE Club writing contest. I've been following the entries all along (except a couple sad weeks where sickness or lack of electricity prevented me) and it's been epic. :)

A few things I learned:

1) Taste is taste. It's actually been really encouraging to see the variety of responses to the various pieces. There were entries I loved that other people found confusing or boring, and pieces I disliked that other people adored. Seeing all of this from the perspective of an outsider (for the most part) helped me realize how subjective this business of writing can be. The next time an editor or agent doesn't love my work, I'm not going to freak out and assume that everyone, everywhere is going to hate it. One opinion is just one opinion.

2) CRITIQUE PARTNERS ARE AWESOME! Because the contest is anonymous, I had to submit something previously unread. Thus un-critiqued. And...it didn't make it through the first round. I received many very helpful comments/critiques, amounting to: This is really good writing, but too confusing when we can only see 500 words. Honestly, the comments were so kind that I couldn't be offended, but I did have a few moments of wishing my crit partners had been able to read it first and tell me that. Luckily they're there for each and every submission I ever send to an agent or editor.

3) The first few sentences of a piece are paramount. After reading so many entries, I'm starting to understand why agents and editors don't need a full manuscript to make a decision. You really can tell in a few sentences or paragraphs whether or not the writer is someone you trust to lead you through the story.

The contest began with a lot of voter enthusiasm, but sadly that has petered out--I suppose a lot of the writers who were outvoted stopped following the bouts. As one of those writers, I get the disappointment. But I have learned so much from reading the rest of the entries as well as the voter responses. I'm reading amazing writing--these people could go on to be the next Neil Gaimans of the world...and I'll get to say I "read them when..." (Of course, they're anonymous at the moment, but if they make it to the final or reveal their identities later, THEN I can say it. :)

Anyone can vote, as long as you sign up on the Linky List here. But even if you don't vote, I highly recommend checking out DL's blog and reading the entries! We're into Round 3 of the play-offs now, and the competition is really heating up...